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Rod Langway
Rod Cory Langway (born May 3, 1957, in Taipei, Taiwan, and raised in Randolph, Massachusetts) is a former American professional defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL), elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. Amateur career Rod Langway was born when his father, an American serviceman, was stationed in Taiwan, and he is the only NHL player to have been born in Taiwan. He grew up in Massachusetts and did not begin playing hockey until age 13 in 1970, aside from pick-up street hockey games with the neighborhood boys. He then played for his high school team, the Randolph Blue Devils, which he led to state tourney appearances in 1973 and 1975. Professional career A left-handed shot, Langway was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL in 1977 and by the Birmingham Bulls of the WHA in the same year. He played one season for the Bulls (1977–78) before joining the Canadiens for the 1978–79 NHL season, and would win the Stanley Cup that year. He played for Montreal until he was traded to the Washington Capitals for the start of the 1982–83 season. The Capitals acquired Langway from the Canadiens in a blockbuster trade—going with Doug Jarvis, Craig Laughlin, and Brian Engblom in exchange for Ryan Walter and Rick Green—that not only saved the franchise from moving out of D.C., but also stocked them for an extended string of postseason appearances. After not making the playoffs in their first eight seasons in the league, the Capitals competed in the postseason in every one of the 11 years that Langway was with the team. Langway served as the long-time captain of the Capitals, being known as an accomplished leader who demanded greatness from himself and others, and earning the nickname "Secretary of Defense". Many people considered him the franchise's savior. Langway's predecessors as Norris Trophy winners were the dominant defensemen of the 1970s, like Bobby Orr, Larry Robinson, and Denis Potvin, who had put up high scoring numbers. By contrast, Langway was a traditional defender whose shot was likened to a "cool summer breeze". He scored only three goals during one of his best seasons, though he is remembered by Capitals fans for a game–winning goal in overtime against the New York Rangers' Mike Richter in the 1990 playoffs. Despite his lack of offensive production, his excellence at his position was credited with significantly reducing the Capitals' goals against average, which enabled them to finally make the playoffs. Langway won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in both 1983 and 1984. He earned two postseason All-Star First Team selections and one Second Team selection as a defenseman—the first American NHL All-Star since Frank Brimsek in 1948. Langway finished runner-up to Wayne Gretzky for the Hart Trophy in 1982. He was also part of the NHL All-Star team that played the Soviet national hockey team in Rendez-Vous '87. Upon his retirement from the NHL in 1993, Langway was the last active player who won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens during their late-70s dynasty. In international hockey, he represented the United States in the 1981, 1984, and 1987 Canada Cup as well as the 1982 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments. Coaching career Langway served as player-coach for the San Francisco Spiders during their single season as an IHL team in 1995–1996. Langway began his career before helmets were mandatory and was the only member of the Spiders who played without a helmet under a league grandfather clause. Langway was also an assistant coach under Tom McVie with the American Hockey League's Providence Bruins during the 1997-98 season. He played in ten games that year to assist with on-ice development, during which time he was not granted an exemption to play without a helmet. Providence finished with a mere 19 victories that season, and Langway did not return the following year after McVie was reassigned to be a scout by the Boston organization. During the 2003–04 season, Langway coached the Richmond Riverdogs expansion franchise in the United Hockey League to a division championship, and a first-round playoff loss to the Elmira Jackals. Team management did not extend Langway's contract after the first season. Awards and accomplishments Langway's jersey number (#5) was retired by the Capitals on November 26, 1997, and he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999. His career was crowned with his election to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002. * Stanley Cup Champions 1979 (Montreal) * Norris Trophy: 1982–83, 1983–84 (Washington) * NHL All-Star First Team: 1982–83, 1983–84 (Washington) * NHL All-Star Second Team: 1984–85 (Washington) * All-Star Game: 1981, 1982 (Montreal), 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 (Washington) * Canada Cup 1984 All-Star First Team (Team USA) Career statistics External links * Category:Born in 1957 Category:American ice hockey players Category:Birmingham Bulls players Category:Hockey Hall of Fame Category:Montreal Canadiens players Category:NHL All-Stars Category:National Hockey League players with retired numbers Category:New Hampshire Wildcats players Category:Norris Trophy winners Category:Nova Scotia Voyageurs players Category:Providence Bruins coaches Category:Providence Bruins players Category:San Francisco Spiders players Category:Stanley Cup champions Category:United States Hockey Hall of Fame Category:Washington Capitals players Category:Retired in 1996